Have you ever thought that a professional should have done
more than they have or that they have ruined your garment? Well here's where you can find cost effective
help. The first step to solving a dispute to your satisfaction
is to register with DrClean. Why not take a couple of minutes to
do it now?

If
you're already registered you just have to
login: -

By giving us the details of
your problem we'll be able to send you a letter from DrClean
helping you to make a claim against whoever is at fault. There will be a £10 fee for this
service (that should be reclaimable) and we will contact you and set an individual advisor
specifically to deal with your case if necessary.

Firstly
Remember
- Nobody Likes Being In A Dispute......
Not you or the person you're in dispute with and very few businesses out
there, who are looking for loyal customers, like their
reputation damaged by not dealing with a problem in the right way. All
businesses at some point will have a dissatisfied customer even when
they are legitimately trying their best. In fact, we would suggest that
someone who resolves a dispute to your satisfaction is someone you
should use, not someone you should avoid, as you know their intention is
to satisfy their customers.

So
how are you going to achieve the best results if you believe something
has gone wrong?

Here are some basic
rules that will help you to a successful conclusion to your dispute..

____________________________________________

DON'T
get Angry

Getting hot
under the collar and shouting simply sets up a conflict
situation and tends to solve nothing. Try to discuss the problem
with the right person (ask for the manager or the owner
immediately you notice a problem) and explain the problem as you
see it. Remember - your aim is to resolve the dispute in your
favour not to get into an argument.

____________________________________________

LISTEN

Once you've
explained what you think has gone wrong listen to what the
manager or owner has to say. A conversation is a two way
communication - the manager may make very good sense and be
explaining a way to resolve the dispute. Alternatively he may be
agreeing with you that something has gone wrong and suggesting
that some other cause (other than their negligence) is to blame.
You can't just dismiss this out of hand...they may be right.

____________________________________________

THINKBefore you talk

Again this sort
of thing just helps inflame the situation. Starting with
"You've ruined my suit" instantly sets the hackles up
and puts the other party on the defensive. Instead saying
"Something appears to have gone wrong, doesn't it?"
calms things down and asks for the other persons agreement - two
things you're aiming to achieve.

____________________________________________

Set
your case out clearly

After you've
listened, if you disagree with what has been said explain clearly
and calmly what you believe to be the case. If the other party is
offering to try to repair the damage you have to let them have
at least one attempt. However, state clearly that you believe
them to be at fault and that you are prepared to take the matter
to court if necessary to solve the dispute. If the professional
suggests that you both use an independent testing house to
assess who is to blame for the problem accept the offer (even if
you have to pay
or suggest using DrClean) whoever is at fault will have to cover your
costs in getting the examination done, once fault is proven.

____________________________________________

The
LAW is on your side

If someone has
been negligent and thereby damaged one of your possessions you
are perfectly entitled to sue in the small claims court and
reclaim an amount for damages plus the costs associated with a
case (not including legal expenses). This includes the cost of
any independent advice you have sought but you shouldn't
need a lawyer as a small claims court will act as
arbitrator and assess the facts of the case, coming to a
logical conclusion. The costs are around £30 and court staff
will be very helpful if you ask them any questions.

____________________________________________

These are
three of the main causes for complaint against a professional.

Description________Factors for
or against you

Shrinkage or Distortion

Spotting Damage(Stain Treatment)
or Graying

Fabric/Accessory Damage

FOR

Fabric
shouldn't shrink excessively during cleaning and localised
shrinkage or distortion (where it happens to a small area of the fabric) will almost certainly be due to poor
treatment by the professional. However, some manufacturers may
have allowed up to a 10% tolerance to shrinkage (which in our
opinion is excessive) and this would turn a 32" waist into
a 29" waist (a tight squeeze at least).

This
is normally characterised by circular wealds on the fabric around where a stain used to be. It can
lighten or darken an area and is fairly easily recognisable.
Scraping or scrubbing a fabric can also cause damage and is common with silk and
cotton, showing up as a lighter area of material. Graying of the
fabric is normally due to contaminated solvent and you will win
if this is the case.

This
type of damage can take many forms. Crinkling of belts because
the backs aren't cleanable or deterioration of the fabric
because some constituent part happens to be attacked by the
cleaning process. Dye running out of
some part of the garment (buttons etc.) is a common problem that
is often the fault of the manufacturer not testing the fabric
for cleaning.

AGAINST

Most
fabrics have some form of shrinkage from new, even cotton.
They also stretch during wear and are therefore likely to feel
tighter after cleaning than before. This is normal and you
can not expect to have cover for it from the cleaner. Also
sometimes we get fatter over the time we're wearing a garment
and it will feel tighter on cleaning so try to be honest with
yourself in this case.

What you can claim for is
negligence and that means a person not doing what they can
reasonably be expected to do in their professional capacity. If
the professional has not been excessive or used due diligence
when they know damage is likely, but has tried his or her best
to remove a stain have they been negligent? Could a stain have
been removed successfully anyway and if not would the garment
have been ruined by the original stain in the first place? A
dull look can be caused by loss of optical brightners and this
can be taken as graying.

In this case you will almost
certainly have a successful claim against either the
dry cleaner or the retailer. Unless you've accepted owners risk over a cleaners
legitimate concern your only problem might be the fight between
manufacturer and cleaner, who may blame each other. But don't
worry, this
will just delay matters and should not affect the outcome.

Although we aren't necessarily of
the opinion that you get what you pay for, it is true that we all get
paid for the time we spend doing a job and the skill we've learned in
doing it over the years. All services are aimed at a particular price
point - effectively attracting a certain type of clientele - that generally
reflects the time and effort a person is prepared to give to a job.
Don't expect to pay £1.50 to clean a pair of trousers and then be upset
that they don't do £6.00 worth of work on them, nobody is aiming to
make a loss just because it's you. If you pay £5.00 for a suit to be
cleaned it's unlikely to be cleaned very well because you're just not
paying enough for someone to spend much time on your garment. In
general, if a service is cheap you're paying
for minimal cleaning and as long as you realise that there's no problem with using
the service. However, don't expect to drive away in a Rolls Royce if
you don't pay for one and it's best to keep that in mind when
reviewing finished product.